Originally Posted by
roscoe1
That is precisely why open door flights should be banned for the general public unless seatbelts are worn all the time OR the FAA needs a new regulation that states that open door flights in helicopters OR airplanes may only be conducted when FAA approved harnesses are in use.
The former (ban releasing the seatbelt) for open door tourist flights would seem the simplest and safest way to go. I've done hundreds of hours of open door commercial aerial photography, and only a very small amount of that was in a harness. It's just not needed to take photos with the doors off.
What FLYNYON was selling wasn't the ability to take photos of the skyline from a helicopter. They were selling thrills, the "foot selfie" thing. There is even (or was) a photo on their web site where customers could sit in a helicopter mockup, with their feet dangling over a model of the ground, so they could practice their foot selfie camera shots before the flight.
I don't believe there is a harness made, that would be safer for a tourist to use in the event of submersion than a seatbelt. Releasing a seatbelt is an instinctive act. We do it every day when driving a car. Fooling with any special harness release -- especially one designed to handle a tension load (i.e. falling out of the aircraft) -- is going to take more time than releasing a seatbelt. The solution seems obvious. There can still be a tourist industry with open door flights, and people buckled into their seats.